Employer plans vary widely in their benefits. In fact, unlike with Medicare insurance, there are few rules and laws about what a plan must cover or not cover. As a rule of thumb, if you are paying less than $100 a month for your retiree health plan and it includes creditable drug coverage, you are probably getting a good deal. If not, it may be worth exploring private individual insurance options to see if you can save money. However, it’s important to note that if you do leave your employer policy, you may not be able to return to that plan in the future.

Getting health insurance for people under 65 can be hard and expensive. People in retiree health plans with spouses or dependent children may find that even if they are paying a lot of money for their health insurance through an employer, they have little choice until their dependents are able to get alternative health insurance or Medicare.

Employer health plans vary widely from company to company. Some employers allow people to enter and exit their plan as they see fit, while other employers see health insurance as a one-way door where someone can only leave the plan, but never return. Depending on your situation, leaving the plan may be appropriate, but it’s always worth checking with your benefits administrator to understand the implications of leaving before making that shift.

Many people like help deciding which plan is a good choice for them. Plans vary widely from company to company and from place to place, and when comparing plans between companies it’s important to compare the fine print—not just the premiums. That’s what Senior Educators Insurance Services was created for—to provide free, unbiased assistance to Medicare recipients to help them choose appropriate coverage. To request help now, please fill out the short informational form here so a licensed representative can be well informed about your healthcare preferences. Or simply give us a call at 1-800-505-8575 and speak with a trained and licensed representative now!

If you prefer to do the research by yourself, we’ve created a number of tools to help you do so. First, we have created the Senior Educators Insurance Services’ Top 10 Tips for Navigating Medicare, which captures a very high-level perspective on what to consider based on our years of experience. Second, we have created a plan comparison engine that shows you a list of the plans available in your area. To access that tool, enter your zip code on the side of this page and click the “Find Plans” button. We hope that if you find a plan through our tools, you’ll enroll through our organization, as it’s how we can afford to provide excellent, unbiased information and help.